The Heart of Me
by Catherine E. Grant
Summary: Xena, Gab & Joxer stay at Cyrene's while Argo foals. Will eventually be Gab/Joxer & Xena/Ares


THE HEART OF ME Ch.1

Author: Catherine E. Grant (avatar_31@angelfire.com)

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Ren Pic, not me. How many times do I have to say this???

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A/N: The first Xena fic I have written in quite a while. Frankly, I'm disappointed by the turn the producers have taken with the show. It's appalling. I think they went wrong when they created that whole Eve thingamagig, but hey, what can I do? Obviously I'm only a little unimportant fanfic writer or I woulda stopped it!!!!

"Push, girl, push! C'mon," Xena coaxed Argo encouragingly, "c'mon, you can do it! Push!" The mare rolled her eyes and tossed her head, whickering at the kneeling women holding stubbornly to her mane. She wasn't giving up without a fight.

"Oh, Argo" the warrior murmured and stroked the sweaty neck appreciatively, "I know you can do this. We both know you can do this. Atta girl, it's alright." She continued to whisper gentle platitudes and watched protectively as slowly the horse began to calm. Her sides quivered. Within moments, Xena was holding the shaky foal who'd made such an abrupt entry into the world. 

"It's a girl! Look, Argo, you have a daughter." More than a little twinge of pride infused Xena's tone as she motioned the tiny, sable filly to her feet. In response, the mare stood up and nudged noses with the little creature. She had her mother's grace, "Auntie" Xena noted appreciatively, with all the aristocratic bearing and colouring of Ares' mighty stallion. "Trust her to go and fall for his damn horse," she muttered softly, and laughed when Argo snorted in response. It seemed she always knew what her companion was thinking. "Ah, we're a pair, you and I, aren't we?" said Xena, "two poor, little, helpless females, swept off our feet by the minions of war." The horse tossed her head and stamped a foot. She _definitely_ knew what Xena was thinking, the warrior decided cheerfully, and she didn't agree one bit! "I feel the same, you know, I was just teasing," she confided, stroking the gleaming neck with a firm hand. Argo had, she realised, turned around to allow the little filly access to her milk, which she suckled greedily. 

Xena leant her head calmly against the mare's, moving slightly when the other whuffed softly. "You want some sugar, do you? I think I have some, yep, here you go." From the deep pocket of her heavy cloak she dug out several slightly crumbled pieces of sugar and presented them to Argo, who chewed them greedily then sighed appreciatively. She jerked her head and whickered a thank-you. "You're welcome" Xena told her. Both horse and warrior shared a sweet tooth that they rarely admitted to.

The tranquil moment broke when the filly pulled away from her mother and staggered a few uncertain steps. Quickly, Xena stood ready to assist, but the newborn merely flopped tiredly in the hay. Argo curled protectively around her and whickered softly at Xena. She could have sworn she saw a "thank you very much, but you really should go and get some sleep yourself" somewhere in the mare's placid gaze.

"D'ya reckon I've been up too long, sweetie?" the warrior grinned. "Okay, well, I won't argue, goodnight, you two." Mother and child looked up at her with equal expressions of bliss. Shaking her head slightly, Xena took the lantern down from the nail by the door and made her gradual way back to the inn.

  
***

The building was black and shadowy, and only the small welcome light by the door and Xena's knowledge indicated that the structure was there at all. It was a moonless night, when the stars were covered by cloud; the blackness loomed ominously and engulfed everything there by day. By night, Amphipolis had the feeling of a long deserted ghost town. No night sounds indicated the continuation of life; the sole lights that burnt away some of the gloom were by the inn's entrance and clutched tightly in the warrior's hand. 

Carefully she unlatched the door, extinguishing the small outer light with her foot. A few dull embers burned in the hearth and a lone candle rested waiting on the table, by a plate of what looked to be nutbread and a piece of scribbled parchment. Lighting the candle Xena raised the note beside its flame. Gabrielle's handwriting. 

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Hope all is well. Get some sleep. EAT SOMETHING. Love, Gabrielle. 

She grinned and shook her head. Pure Gabrielle. But the nutbread was nice, Xena decided rapidly, as she demolished first one then a second slice. The quality of the food was one of the few things she always missed about Amphipolis when she was travelling. Coming home to her mother's cooking usually seemed to make the rest of the journey worthwhile, even if she came out of it the worst for wear – which she often did. 

Taking another piece of the cake Xena bit into it heavily, reaching out again for an extra piece to nibble on the way to bed when she realised the plate was empty. "I didn't eat that much, did I?" she wondered aloud. 

The candle flickered and she noticed a PS to Gabrielle's note. _There's some more nutbread in the pantry._

She thought of everything, Xena thought bemusedly. Quickly she gathered several slices before putting them back and simply taking the whole cake bin to her room. 

***

She awoke to the sound of Cyrene making coffee and Gabrielle chattering excitedly. By the few words she managed to make out Xena gathered that she'd already been out to the stables to see the new addition to their family. 

Rolling over she pulled the pillow over her head. Couldn't they just let her **sleep**?

"Oh Xena, rise and shine!" Joxer's off-key cry made her wince. "Your breakfast is ready!"  
  
"Go away." She managed through gritted teeth.

Joxer shook his head in puzzlement. It was difficult to make out what she said under the weight of both pillow and doona. Taking a chance, he pulled away the items Xena seemed to be trying to smother herself with. 

"I said, BREAKFAST IS-"

Xena surged out of her makeshift cocoon and seized him by the throat. "AND I SAID, GO AWAY!" she yelled with as much force as she could manage, heaving him towards the open doorway. He fell through with an awful clang that jarred Xena's senses but fell as music on her ears. Gratified, she marched with dignity back to her bed and fell in an undignified heap midst the doona, pillows and blankets. She was asleep within moments, a pleased smile still on her face.

Joxer gingerly picked himself up. Studying Xena's face, he declared "I don't think she really wants to get up." Armed with this new knowledge and several interesting bruises, he headed back to the kitchen to tell Gabrielle and Cyrene that Xena wouldn't be joining them just yet. 


End file.
